
By JAMES R. WRIGHT 

Associate Member of Automotive Engineers 
and Proprietor of The J, R. Wright 
Engineering Works, 

1919 Edition, 


Copyright 1919. by James R. Wright. 
All Rights Reserved. 


Published ami Distributed Under the Direc¬ 
tion of 


THE J R. WRIGHT ENGINEERING WORKS 
1301 Tin am an Avenue, Trenton, Mo. 

PRICE S1.00. • 


Press of The W. B. Rogers Printing Co, 
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♦ 


X 


AUTO SENSE 

By JAMES R. WRIGHT. 


The world had it’s Ox age, then it’s Horse age, 
and now is the Auto age. 

In the Ox age whoever had ox sense could suc¬ 
cessfully drive a yoke of oxen, in the Horse age one 
with horse sense could drive a team and, now in the 
Auto age, why shouldn’t any person having Auto 
Sense successfully handle a motor car? 

Now the only way any one came to have ox or 
horse sense was by intimate acquaintance with those 
domesticated animals and, just so, if one acquires 
Auto Sense he or she must become intimately ac¬ 
quainted with the automobile. 

No—Never mind what other folks say, or think, 
you do not need a Complete Course in Automobile 
Engineering, for that is as unnecessary aS that you 
should be a veterinary in order to drive a team of 
horses. 

What you want is to know your car like you knew 
your old family horse. 

The real pleasure of owning and driving a car con¬ 
sists simply in having Auto Sense. 




2 


AUTO SENSE 


Really, there are no spooks to hurt you, and if you 
will trust yourself with me I will tell you all the 
secrets of science involved in the operation of an 
automobile. 

I will put these mechanical “mysteries” in such 
simple, easy terms that you will laugh at yourself 
for having ever thought an automobile a hidden 
maze of tangled complications and your car will 
stand out before your mind as a beautiful pleasure 
boat, like those magic chariots the fairies use to 
drive with their musical wands. 

It is true, the automobile is the product of the 
cumulative genius of the auto age an-d was conceived, 
developed and perfected by master minds but, God 
made the old family horse and you did not imagine, 
in the smallest degree, you should know as much as 
the Creator to master perfectly the work of His 
hands. 

Now let us suppose that your automobile, of what¬ 
ever make or model, has come to you for your care 
and keeping and to serve you, in exchange for your 
faithful family hores. 

If you may have as much Auto Sense as you surely 
had horse sense you will be delighted with your car 
and then, when any one wishes to sell you a “fool¬ 
proof” machine, you will feel insulted that they take 
you for a fool. Suppose some one should try to sell 
you a horse on the recommendation that he was 
“fool-proof,” and yet one may never hope to under- 



AUTO SENSE 


3 


stand the horse half so well as one may an auto¬ 
mobile. 

Now let us go out to your garage where stands 
your car, just where your gentle, obedient horse was 
once wont to stand. O, I see—you have rebuilt 
somewhat—Yes, and put in a concrete floor. 

What a beautiful car you have; such lovely and 
striking colors, and how charmingly attractive the 
body lines. 

You say you have driven it only a few miles since 
your son went away? And you don’t know if you 
will ever try it again! You had trouble and had to 
be pulled in! And then got it started and had an ac¬ 
cident, and drove through a closed gate! How 
strange. 

Did you £ver have to be pulled in by another when 
you drove your old family horse? You say, Only 
when you were drunk, other times the horse minded 
you. 

Did you ever drive your horse through a closed 
gate? You say. Not when you were sober. O yes, 
of course, he minded you and you could control him, 
but why not control your car and make it mind your 
every command? You say the car is full of trigger 
works and machinery that you cannot understand. 
Now listen. You know why a grind stone has grit, 
why a knife has an edge, why a spade has a handle, 
why a door has a knob and why a lock has' a key. 
You knew why your horse had feet and limbs, why 



4 


AUTO SENSE 


he had a body, why he was provided with eyes and 
ears and why it was necessary that he should have 
a stomach and lungs and heart, just so, when you 
have Auto Sense you will easily see the reason and 
use of all the parts of your car. 

Now we will presume, in the first case, that your 
car is equipped with a self starter, and I will take 
the wheel till we are well on the road, then we will 
finish with yourself at the wheel. 

We will presume that you understand the simple 
procedure of how to start your engine.* What! The 
starter will not start, will not turn the engine over. 
(This system the author is using, you may call In¬ 
structive Presumption, that is, it is presuming a sit¬ 
uation, condition or thing for the sake of introducing 
or suggesting instruction.) 

What shall we do? Call up the city garage, you 
say. Oh no, let us have Auto Sense. 

Now there are just Seven Causes of failure in any 
self starter and one or more of these causes is re¬ 
sponsible for our trouble, but never all of them at 
one time. A man may have one or more kinds of 
prysical derangement but he will never have every 
thing in the world at once. Will he? Well, the 
starter will not start. Let’s shoot the trouble. 

Now listen: in trouble shooting never try to guess 
the cause, as that method is not sense but it is the 
most stupid ignorance. You had as well guess two 
things and pitch up a coin and let heads or tails de- 




AUTO SENSE 


5 


cide which of the two is right. I said—, What did 
I say? That’s it. I said in a Starter failure there are 
just Seven Causes of trouble to investigate. How 
shall we begin? If you had seven possible causes of 
any given trouble to discover wouldn’t you look first 
for the mosj probable one of the seven? Exactly so. 
I know you get my idea clearly. 

The first probable cause of failure in this case now 
before us in A Weak Battery. (Let the reader here 
turn to, and carefully read, Article 1, on Testing Bat¬ 
teries.) 

Suppose we find our battery down or discharged 
then, of course, the Starter will not start, since it’s 
only source of energy is from the battery. 

But suppose we find the battery up and O. K. then 
the next and Second most probable cause of failure 
is an Open Circuit. (Here turn to Article 2, on In¬ 
specting Wiring and Switches and read the author’s 
instructions.) 

Now we must remember that electricity flows un¬ 
der control over wires or conductors as water flows 
through pipes or conductors and if our Starter was a 
water motor and qur battery the pressure supply and 
we should break or otherwise disconnect a pipe we 
should have a dead Starter. So we will inspect the 
wires, the switch contacts and the terminals or 
brushes. 

If we find no open circuit then the next and Third 
most probable cause of our trouble is- A Ground-or 



6 


AUTO SENSE 


Short Circuit. Electricity, like water, will follow the 
line of least resistance and wires or switches may be 
providing the circuit with a ground contact. 

If we find no grounds or short circuits then the 
next and Fourth most probable cause would be 
Faulty Brushes. They may be worn out, or stuck in 
the holders, or the springs may not be in condition 
to press them firmly against commutator. 

But suppose we find the brushes O. K. then we 
proceed to the Fifth probable cause, A Rough and 
Dirty Commutator. Of course we will clean this 
part if it is dirty and smooth it with 00 sand paper. 

Now if we have found the trouble in any one or 
more of the five mentioned causes then we can cor¬ 
rect the trouble and have thus saved a heavy garage 
bill. 

But if we yet fail to find the trouble we shall have 
to call the garage or crank by hand power as the two 
remaining causes of failure in our Starter ^are highly 
technical and require the service of an expert. We 
have a Grounded or Defective Armature or Field 
Windings, or we have High Resistance in Main Cir¬ 
cuits. 

If the last named cause was from loose terminals, 
bad joints, poor switch contacts, rough .commutator 
or short brushes without sufficient spring tension, 
then we might easily correct it, but it may result 
from too small wire being used and of this we will 
not* presume tp judge. 



AUTO SENSE 


7 


But we have at least eliminated Five of the first 
and most probable causes of Starter trouble and, with 
rare exceptions, we have made the Starter Start. 

NOTE. Generator Trouble s may be located and 
corrected by the same steps of procedure as outlined 
on the Starter troubles with the further exception, 
the relay cut out switch located in the system be¬ 
tween the Generator and Battery may require the at¬ 
tention of an expert. 

We will now suppose that the Starter spins the 
engine, (If your car is not equipped with a^starter 
we will then suppose that you spin the engine with 
the hand crank.) Of course, ordinarily, your engine 
starts ^at first cranking but, since we are to learn 
what to do in the event it fails to start, we will pre¬ 
sume that it does not start. 

Now if you are listening to what I am saying it 
will save you sweat, profanity and ‘‘everything.” 

If an engine fails to start on any reasonable crank¬ 
ing then you had as well quit that foolishness. You 
will exhaust your battery if you are using a starter, 
or you will exhaust yourself if you are cranking by 
hand. If the engine fails to start on reasonable 
cranking it is evident proof that sometnihg is«wrong. 

Now right here we must get our mental bearing, 
for if we go to floundering around with excited haste, 
we may really get this engine “out o’ fix.” You have 
heard of the fellow who, when his engine quit, tore 
it all to pieces and scattered it over thq barn yard 






8 


AUTO SENSE 


and then wisely concluded that, from stem to stern, 
he had failed to find a single thing wrong with it. He 
then called a garage. The expert came and was ask¬ 
ed to see if he could find any reason why the engine 
wouldn’t start. The expert angerly told the car own¬ 
er to never again try to shoot engine trouble with a 
manure spreader. 

We will be strengthened in our confidence if we 
know what is not wrong with our engine. You say, 
A hundred things might be wrong. Oh no, that is 
not possible, but that false idea is the reason why so 
few people can shoot auto trouble. 

Suppose you have lost a piece of silver coin and 
you are going tcf hunt for it, what are you going to 
look for? A piece of silver coin. Exactly so. It is 
a definite, positive something you are going to look 
for. 

Now there are just Twelve causes, and no more, of 
the trouble in our engine failing to start at reason¬ 
able cranking. Listen: It is highly improbable that 
more than one of the twelve is to blame in any given 
case, that is, that more than one at a time may de¬ 
velop. 

Please do not think me offering an insult to your 
intelligence when the first causes of frequent engine 
trouble are cited. 

First, let us see that gears are not engaged, that 
the clutch is fully thrown out and that the gear lever 
is in neutral. 



AUTO SENSE 


9 


If you have observed as closely as the author you 
have known garage bills to accrue at No. 1. 

Second, let us see that the switch is turned to 
starting position. Don’t laugh. Yes, you could cite 
several cases. So could I. 

Third, let us see if there is sufficient gasoline. ' 
Plenty in the tank. Alright, then open the drain 
cock on the carbureter and sec if it flows freely. If 
it does, very well. If it does not, then we have a 
fuel stoppage. If our car has a gravity feed we will 
examine, first, the vent hole in the top of the filler 
cap, to see if any leaf, or paper, or dirt, or other stray 
fragment of any thing has stopped it up. If we find 
it open and clear of obstruction, next we will open 
the drain cock at the bottom of the sediment trap on 
the lower side of the gasoline tank, (Or wherever it 
may be located) and we will run a wire up into the 
trap to loosen and release any obstructions which 
may. be lodged in the fuel outlet, (leaving the drain 
cock on the carbureter opefi to test for flow of gaso¬ 
line. If we yet fail to get desired results we will 
next disconnect the fuel pipe line from the carburet¬ 
er and with our tire pump we will pump air through 
the pipe. If fuel then flows, alright, connect the pipe 
again. If fuel already flows when we first discon¬ 
nect close the line at the shut off valve next to tank 
and pump air through carbureter. If we still fail to 
secure free flow of fuel through carbureter then we 
must remove and disassemble carbureter and we will 
now finally remove any and all obstructions. There-, 
fore this trouble is corrected. 



10 


AUTO SENSE 


But if our car has a pressure feed system, then we 
must look for sufficient pressure in the tank, and if 
pressure is insufficient, we must look for, leaking 
tank,- or piping, or .filling cap, or stuck relief valve, 
or for clogged piping. 

* If our fuel system should be the Vacuum feed, 
then we must look for trouble, most usually, in the 
chamber of our vacuum system. There may be sedi¬ 
ment under the trap valve between the vacuum cham¬ 
ber and the carbureter supply chamber, a spring may 
be broken, a valve may be stuck or faulty, it may 
have lost its priming. Suck hard on the overflow pipe 
and if that fails put your tire pump hose connection 
over the vent hole in the filler cap on top of the gas¬ 
oline tank and pump till the gasoline flows from the 
overflow pipe on top of the vacuum tank. This little 
trick will usually dislodge any sediment which may 
have gathered under the valve in the vacuum cham¬ 
ber. 

But suppose we found plenty of gasoline flowing 
from the carbureter when we first, opened the drain 
cock to test for fuel, then we would not give one 
other thought to our fuel, but would look elsewhere 
for the trouble. 

Fourth, we will test for flooded engine. Switch off 
the ignition. Do not use the chocker. Never mind 
your throttle position. Spin the engine, or, at least 
turn it over a few times. Switch on the ignition and 
spin the engine. 



AUTO SENSE 


11 


If the engine still refuses to start after we are sure 
we have cleared the cylinders of excessive gasoline, 
we are ready for another definite step. 

Fifth, we will test the battery to see if it is run 
down, discharged or exhausted. (The reader should 
thoroughly familiarize himself or herself on testing 
batteries. See Article 1.) 

If we find the battery O. K. let us not make the 
frequent mistake of jumping a cog here in our sys¬ 
tem. We are taking up trouble in the order, remem¬ 
ber, in which we are most apt to find it. 

Sixth, we will adjust the carbureter to normal mix¬ 
ture. (Let the reader here study carefully Article 8, 
on Testing Gasoline and Adjusting Carbureters.) 

Some inexperienced person may have tampered 
with our carbureter, or it may have jolted out of 
proper adjustment and would yet function when our 
engine was heated up. 

If the weather is cold our mixture may. be too lean 
to start the cold engine. One minute should be 
ample time, let us adjust it. And yet our engine does 
not start. 

Seventh, let us now inspect for broken electrical 
Circuit. 

Oh no, here is not where we call the garage, I 
blundered in using the term, Electrical Circuit, and 
that stumped you. May I kill that mystery with one 
simple suggestion. You can neither see the air nor 



12 


AUTO SENSE 


your lungs yet you are easily and quickly able to 
know if your lungs are not getting sufficient air. 
(Here the reader sohuld refer to the Article 2, on 
Inspecting Wiring and Switches.) 

Recall what was said while we were shooting 
trouble on our Starter in the comparison we made of 
water pipes and wires. Suppose we take a child’s 
toy train for an illustration. We have a circular 
track. Wind up the engine. Now it runs around the 
circle and comes* back to us. We wound the spring 
on the tiny locomotive. We are the source of its 
energy. We sent it forth on a circular track and it 
returned to us. Now we will remove a section of 
the track and oh, of course, it “jumps” the track and 
does not return. Why? Because its circuit is brok¬ 
en. This is just play to shoot trouble. Electricity 
is our toy. The battery, or magneto, or dynamo 
winds our toy up and the wires and conductors are 
the little tracks on which it. runs. So if something 
has broken or otherwise rendered our track defective 
then our toy, like the little tin . locomotive, will 
“jump” the track only, in the case of electricity, our 
toy stops on the end of the broken track, unless it 
is helped off by a ground wire or conductor. So if 
we find no broken circuit we will next look for: 

Eighth, an interrupted electrical circuit. Now 
don’t let your mind get balled up on this term. It 
simply means that the “Cow-catcher” of our tin toy 
has run into something on the track and the thing 
has. interfered with our “locomotive” and it fails to 
make the complete circuit of the track. (Here the 



AUTO SENSE 


13 


reader should consult Article 4, on Inspecting, Test¬ 
ing and Adjusting Vibrators and Coils. Also Article 
6, on Inspecting and Adjusting Circuitbreaker or 
Interrupter.) 

We will inspect all ground wire connections and 
look for ground connections, or a short circuit from 
lack of insulation, or defective wiring. 

If our car happens to be a Ford, which is frequent¬ 
ly the case, then we must look for lint or waste on 
the point of the magneto current collecting contact 
plunger. Now don’t let this name mislead you and 
cause you to look for a submarine or something 
worse. It is the magneto binding post located under 
the toe board. Take out the three screws and lift 
the plunger out and inspect it. 

(Read Article 3, on Inspecting and Testing Mag¬ 
netos and Dynamos.) 

If we still have a dead engine we will proceed: 

Ninth, to inspect for fouled or cracked electrodes 
of spark-plugs. (Here read Article 7, on Inspecting 
and Adjusting Spark Plug Gaps.) 

# 

Any trouble here will, on inspection, plainly man. 
ifest itself and be easily corrected. 

Tenth, if our engine yet fails us we will look for 
faulty compression. (Let the reader here study the 
Article 5, on Timing and Article 9, on Adjusting 
Valve Lift.) 




14 


AUTO SENSE 


We must test for compression and we must not 
mistake mechanical resistance, when cranking by 
hand, for compression. If we may have a com- 
pressometer each cylinder should show from forty 
to sixty pounds, at hand cranking. If there is per- 
ceptable resistance to hand cranking from compres¬ 
sion there is at least twenty pounds. The engine 
should crank, therefore faulty compression is not to 
blame. But if there is no perceptible resistance from 
compression at cranking then we may find the piston 
rings 'gumnjed, or stuck, or turned with openings' or 
slots in line. A valve head or seat may be warped, 
or incorrect timing-or lift may cause leakage. We 
must be sure that no spark plug core leaks compres¬ 
sion.. We must look for dry cylinders and see that 
there is sufficient supply of cylinder oil. We must 
look for defective cylinder head gasket and for leaks 
around the cylinder head cap screws. We must look 
for any possible leak around the fittings of the intake 
manifold or for any sand holes in the manifold it¬ 
self. We must look for stuck inlet valves and see if 
valve push rods are adjusted to allow the valves to 
seat properly. We must see if the valve springs 
are weak or broken. 

Now after having inspected, tested out and sys¬ 
tematically overhauled the distinct components of 
each distinct group of the entire power plant, ad¬ 
vancing by steps, until we have completed the full 
investigation of Ten causes of failure when an engine 
will not start, if our engine still fails us we must call 
the garage for the reason that the Two remaining 



AUTO SENSE 


15 


causes of failure are of an electrical nature involving 
our magneto or coils in a way that it will, in all 
probability, require an expert to make the repair. 
They are either a burned or broken down winding 
or a demagnetized field. 

Of course, there are other minor things, either 
electrically or mechanically, involved when a gas en¬ 
gine will not start, but they lie within the zones of 
inspection outlined and will, in all probability, be ap¬ 
parent to the careful observer. 

It will seldom occur that even two causes of en¬ 
gine trouble shall develop at the same time, and es¬ 
pecially is this true if an engine has had due atten¬ 
tion. 

It should be remembered that the two points, 11 
and 12, on which we stuck and called the garage are 
very rare occurrences and might not happen once in 
the life of a car. 

Therefore we may justly claim that we found the 
trouble, corrected it and Started the engine. 

We will now suppose we crank the engine and it 
starts, each time it is cranked but immediately stops. 

Now be patient and sensible and don’t consign it 
to the scrap pile or knock on the make of the engine 
or “cuss’ the factory that put it out. Just simply 
have Auto Sense. 

Now this is a different class of trouble from what 
we had when our engine would not start. There is 



16 


AUTO SENSE 


presented to us evidence of a fault somewhere' and 
it’s up to us to locate it and correct it. 

Now if we would be quick and efficient trouble 
shooters we must classify our troubles and system¬ 
atize our line of procedure. 

We had first, a case of starting a dead Starter and 
we considered only such things as were directly re¬ 
sponsible for that class of trouble, then we had a 
case of starting a dead engine and we specialized 04 
those things immediately causing that class of trou¬ 
ble, and now we are to correct the fault of engine 
stoppage and therefore a new and different class of 
trouble is before us. 

In this case there are just Eight causes to investi. 
gate. 

First, and always first in this case, we will see if 
we have sufficient gasoline supply. If the fuel sup¬ 
ply is O. K. and getting through the carbureter very 
well, but we must be sure that the fuel line is abso¬ 
lutely clear of all obstructions, for the reason that 
this is the most frequent cause of engine stoppage. 
If there is a fuel obstruction any where from the tank 
to the intake manifold we shall have trouble. 

Second, we will look for insufficient spark. We 
may be getting a spark at the sparking time of each 
plug, but it may be weak. We must test our bat¬ 
teries and thoroughly inspect the source of our elec¬ 
trical energy. This may be easily and quickly done. 
If our spark is weak it will show weak, if strong, it 



AUTO SENSE 


17 


will show strong. We can tell a shooting star from 
a lightning bug. Can’t we? Sure. 

Third, we will inspect the switch. We must take 
the switch off and take it to pieces if need be and 
overhaul it till we know it is not to blame for our 
trouble, but listen: just remove one thing at a time 
and note how it comes from the assembly and then 
put it back just like it should be and then take an¬ 
other and so on till you have overhauled the func¬ 
tioning parts of the switch. 

Fourth, we will see if we have a broken electrical 
circuit. We shall simply have to become familiar 
i with these “Circuit’ ’troubles and the author is try- 1 
ing to hand it to you in “broken doses” or “on the 
installment plan” so you will quit shying from this 
electrical “scare-crow.” 

Recall the water pipe illustration, and the tin loco¬ 
motive. Now you know what a circus is. Yes, a 
show that shows in a ring, or it may be a big “three 
ring” circus. 

An electrical circuit is simply a flow of electricity 
in a circuit, from the battery, or generator, to given 
points on given conductors and returning to source 
of flow. 

There will be as much electricity return to the 
battery, or source of flow, as went out, except what 
is absorbed by the resistance it encounters in its cir¬ 
cuit. Resistance overcome is called work and is 
measured in watts. 



18 


AUTO SENSE 


The pressure which your battery provides is called 
volts and the quantity of flow is called current or 
amperage, that is, these are terms used to measure 
electricity. 

Now suppose we have a broken wire and its posi¬ 
tion in the holder or support is such that without 
shaking it there is contact with the two broken ends, 
but with the shaking consequent to the running of 
the engine, the ends open at the brake in the wire, 
that is just the same as switching off your ignition. 
The circuit is broken. And we must remember that 
a loose terminal, when the engine is shaking the wire 
may not make sufficient contact to close the circuit, 
therefore our engine will stop. 

Fifth, we may have a coil vibrator blade stuck. 

Where a single coil is used for each cylinder, as in 
the Ford ignition system, this trouble would not stop 
our engine as it is highly improbable that all the vi¬ 
brator blades would stick at once, but if we have 
only one coil acting for the whole system then the 
failure of that coil would stop our engine. (Here in 
this connection read carefully Article 4, on Testing, 
Inspecting and Adjusting Vibrators and Coils.) 

Sixth, we will see if we have poor cotnact in timer. 

Let us not be afraid to remove the timer and clean 
it and inspect it. If we find poor contact we must 
correct it and if any part, or the whole assembly, 
should be replaced we can easily attend to it our¬ 
selves. 



AUTO SENSE 


19 


Seventh, we will look for faulty carbureter adjust¬ 
ment. 

We will presume you have read Article 8, on Car¬ 
bureter Adjustment and can properly adjust your 
own carbureter. 

Eighth and finally, we will look for a leak in the 
intake manifold. To test for a leaky manifold we 
put some gasoline in an ordinary oil can and start 
the engine and at once, while the engine runs, we 
squirt gasoline over the manifold. If it picks up or 
suddenly dies from the operation it is positive proof 
of a leaking manifold. 

It should be remembered that there are rare 
causes of engine stoppage which the author has not 
dealt with but they may never occur in the life of a 
car and would require the attention of an expert in 
the event they should develop. If we fail to find the 
trouble in any of the eight zones of inspection set 
down we should call the garage. If our car is a 
Ford, one of the unmentioned causes of engine stop, 
page is a worn main bearing permitting the coils 
or magnets to touch or lock. 

I may be pardoned for this suggestion, however, 
if you will give the running condition of your car 
due attention it will be a rare exception if you ever 
have any engine stoppage from any other causes than 
those we have gone over. 

Now we will presume we are taking another start. 






20 


AUTO SENSE 




The engine runs fine if we drive along slowly, but if 
we attempt any speed it misses-. 

There are Five causes for that kind of engine per¬ 
formance. 

First we will see if we have a faulty carbureter 
adjustment. Let us inspect and test out our carbure¬ 
ter for- the best possible adjustment. 

I • 

Second, let us see if we have a worn timer. This 
cause seldom fails to develop a miss at high speeds. 
If we find our timer worn we should replace it with 
a new one. 

Third, we will look for a weak or run down battery. 

High speeds develop heavier compression and con¬ 
sequently the current meets with greater resistance 
at the spark plug gaps, then too, the high speed re¬ 
quires the more rapid flow of electrical energy to 
maintain sparking pressure of the electricity, conse¬ 
quently a weak battery quits the job at high speeds. 

If there is a short in the magneto of a car using 
magneto ignition the high speed may put the peak of 
electrical pressure so high in the mag. that the sys¬ 
tem is short shortcircuited. If. the magneto is weak 
the engine will miss at high speeds. If our car is a 
Ford, there may be lint or waste shreds or particles 
of fabric from the brakeband on magneto current 
collecting plunger, located under toe board. Remove 
the plunger and clean. Also in a Ford the timer case 
may not be making proper contact with engine. 



AUTO SENSE 


21 


Fourth, we will look for faulty vibrator adjustment. 
(Consult Article 4, on Adjusting Vibrators.) 

Fifth, we will inspect the fuel pipes and passages 
to see if they are obstructed. Here recall how we 
overhauled the fuel system when our engine would 
not start. 

There are some other highly technical reasons why 
an engine may miss at high speeds but, in both 
theory and practice, we have considered the causes 
most apt to occur. When these five causes of a miss 
at high speeds have been eliminated from all cars 
not one car in ten thousand will show any high spee*d 
miss. 

Now we will suppose our engine to speed up nicely 
and run well except it develops an occasional and 
irregular miss. This miss, we will find, will occur at 
any speed or under any road conditions. Now all 
cylinders hit regularly, then again there is a miss, 
and so on. 

The reader should remember that a miss of this 
class or character may put an engine entirely out of 
commission, so far as service is concerned, although 
the engine may crank and give occasional promise of 
acting O. K. 

Now we have Ten possible causes to investigate 
and we must not for a moment presume that all of 
the causes involved in our investigation are in any 
one case responsible for our trouble. 

First, we will inspect our timer and see if it is 



22 


AUTO SENSE 


slipping and if so, reset it and tighten. Now it is 
plain if our timer is not making proper rotation as 
set and timed for ignition we should have the very 
kind of trouble we have mentioned. It must be reg¬ 
ularly and continuously distributing to each cylinder 
the electrical energy in the firing time of the cylin¬ 
der. If our timer has slipped on the rotating shaft 
it throws our firing out of time. If our engine is a 
Ford, we must inspect the Roter, (This is the little 
castor shaped roller on the end of the rotating shaft 
under the timer case, or cover.) for a broken or de¬ 
fective spring or for a slipped or otherwise misat- 
tached roter. 

Second, we will see if our half-time shaft is loose. 

This may be the cause of our trouble and we had 
as well inspect for this and then we will know if it 
is, or is not to blame. Of course, if we find this 
shaft loose we will set it in proper time and fasten it 
to place. 

Third, the air valve on our carbureter may be 
sticking and we should inspect this valve and be ab¬ 
solutely certain that it is free and properly function¬ 
ing. 

Fourth, there may be an intermittent obstruction 
in the spray nozel. We should test for a clear and 
free flow passage for our fuel so the engine will be 
provided with a constant mixture. 

Fifth, we must inspect to see if either an inlet or 
an exhaust valve is sticking as this, in either case, 



AUTO SENSE 


23 


would instantly cause the kind of trouble we are 
dealing with. 

Sixth, we must inspect for a broken or weak valve 
spring. 

(To test a valve spring for weakness, we push a 
screw driver blade between the coil turns of the 
spring while the engine is running. If the engine 
picks up perceptibly, spring is weak.) 

Seventh, we must look for loose connections. We 
will follow, in this investigation, the same lines of 
procedure as in former troubles in looking for loose 
connections. 

We should read carefully Article 2, on Wiring 
and Switches.) 

Eighth, we must look for a short circuit. Now 
remember that a short circuit is a case in which our 
electrical energy which we require for ignition finds 
an easier path than that of having to jump the gap 
in the spark plugs. We must see that the circuit is 
as it should be, over the appointed conductors, pro¬ 
vided and installed for the purpose of carrying the 
current. 

Ninth, we must look for faulty carbureter adjust¬ 
ment. 

Always keep in mind that some one may have 
tampered with your carbureter, or that it may have 
jolted out of proper adjustment, or radical changes 
of weather may have put it out of adjustment re- 



AUTO SENSE 


quired for the present prevailing weather conditions. 
(Consult frequently and thoroughly familiarize your¬ 
self with Article 8, on Testing Gasoline and Adjust¬ 
ing Carbureters.) 

Tenth, we must see if we have faulty valve adjust¬ 
ment. (Read carefully Article 9, on Adjusting Valve 
Lift.) 

It will be a very rare occurrence if we find more 
than one of the ten mentioned causes to blame in 
any given case, but it is possible^ that, that one could 
be the last on the list. However, we must not be¬ 
come impatient and run ahead of ourselves in finding 
the exact trouble. It should require but a few min¬ 
utes to take up these ten causes in their order and 
quickly find our trouble. 

Now that we have corrected this irregular miss we 
start once more and our engine suddenly develops a 
constant miss in one or more cylinders with the 
other cylinders’ firing regularly. Now there are only 
Three causes for this kind of miss. Let the reader £ 
note carefully that, the author makes a clear distinc-' 
tion between these engine symptoms to help you 
from getting “bumfuzzled” in trouble shooting. The 
reader must keep these distinctions clear and not be¬ 
come confused. What is the class of engine trouble 
we are now considering? A constant miss in one or 
more cylinders, other cylinders firing regularly. 

First, we will see if we have a faulty vibrator ad¬ 
justment. (Note Article 4, on Testing and Adjusting 
Vibrators.) 





AUTO SENSE 


25 


Second, we will look for defective Timer. (Here 
reflect on the reason and purpose of a timer and read 
Article 5, on Inspecting Timing.) Take off your 
timer and inspect it. If it is dirty, clean it. If it is 
worn, replace it with a new one. 

Third, we must look for a defect in the secondary 
circuit. This may or may not require a lengthy in¬ 
spection. 

Try to remember this simple statement: If cer¬ 
tain cylinders are firing regularly it is proof positive 
that the missing cylinders can pnly miss- from causes 
in the vibrator, timer or secondary circuit. 

Now we wili suppose that all the cylinders hit, but 
occasionally they all missfire. Now we must remem¬ 
ber that this is another and distinct class of engine 
trouble. Don’t confuse this symptom with any other 
trouble we have considered. 

In this case we have Four causes of trouble to in¬ 
vestigate. 

First, we will see if we have fouled spark plugs. 
This is a simple thing but it is, in this case of engine 
trouble, the first most probable cause. 

Second, we must inspect our gasoline supply and 
see that a free flow of fuel is getting to and through 
the carbureter. 

Third, we will see if we have faulty carbureter ad¬ 
justment. 





26 


AUTO SENSE 


The reader has, no doubt, already observed that 
faulty carbureter adjustment may be to blame for 
most any kind of engine trouble, therefore, we must 
take the time to inspect and adjust our carbureter. 

Fourth, we will see if we have a stuck valve. We 
must see that valves are free in'their guides, else 
they cannot function. We should easily find and 
correct this simple trouble. 

Now we will suppose a case in which our engine 
acts “crazy” and gets on our nerves. One minute it 
picks up and seems to do its best and the next min¬ 
ute it wants to quit. It changes on us, fluctuating 
from good to bad and from bad to worse. There are 
Seven causes, any one of which may produce this 
kind of engine performance. 

First, we will look for a cracked spark plug. 

Second, we will look for a broken or defective in¬ 
sulation on some wire, The wire may be swinging 
or jolting the exposed part against some metal part 
thereby shorting or grounding the circuit. 

Third, we will see if any wire connection is loose 
or broken. See that all terminals are tight on their 
binding posts. 

Fourth^ we will see if we have a poor contact in 
the timer. See that the timer is not loose or wab¬ 
bling and that it makes proper contact for ground. 
Here ngain the author is emphasizing to you the 
need of careful inspection of your timer. If you 



AUTO SENSE 


27 


were grinding sausage and the mill or grinder choked 
up wouldn’t you unchoke it and go right on with 
your grinding? Of course you would. Well a timer 
is just as simple as a sausage mill, so don’t be fool¬ 
ish. Have Auto Sense as well as sausage sense, and 
see that the electric mill is working. 

Fifth, we will see if we have faulty carbureter ad¬ 
justment. You see our carbureter is still on our 
engine and may need attention. 

Sixth, we will see if there is a leak in the intake 
manifold. Recall the simple way to test this, by 
squirting gasoline on the manifold when the engine 
is running and if the engine picks up or instantly 
dies, the manifold has a leak. In the case of a leak¬ 
ing manifold the author advises a new manifold. 

Seventh, we will test for water in the gasoline. 
If extreme cold weather, this water may have frozen 
and we may have ice in the bottom of the gasoline 
tank or in the pipe line or in the carbureter. 

We will now suppose another class of engine trou¬ 
ble. This time all the cylinders hit regularly and 
evenly. The engine runs smoothly and we would let 
it alone, but it has no power. The explosions are 
weak and the engine cannot pull. 

Now there are only Seven reasons why an engine 
may not show power efficiency, when all the cylin¬ 
ders are hitting regularly, and we will follow a sim¬ 
ple, but sure, system in locating the exact cause of 
our trouble. 





AUTO SENSE 


First, we will inspect the coil vibrator adjustment 
and we should be sure it is right. (Read Article 4, 
on Adjusting Vibrators.) 

Second, we will inspect for valve leakage. Poor 
compression will greatly reduce engine power. 

Third, we will look for weak valve springs. Recall 
how to test a valve spring by inserting a screw driver 
blade between the coils of the spring with the engine 
running. If the engine picks up, spring is weak. 
Take the spring out and stretch it by pulling on 
either end, securing the other end. 

Fourth, we will inspect the lift on the exhaust 
valves. It may be insufficient to clear the cylinders 
for the fresh fuel charge. 

Fifth, we will see if we have faulty carbureter ad¬ 
justment. 

Sixth, we will inspect for faulty operation of car¬ 
bureter auxiliary Air Valve. This valve must work 
free and seat perfectly. 

Seventh, we will see if we have sufficient lubri¬ 
cation. 

Any one of these seven causes may be the reason 
why an engine will not develop power. 

The author has carried on extensive experimental 
work in his engineering laboratory and has, at least, 
coflvinced himself that the principal cause of weak 
explosions is due to the cylinders loading with a 



AUTO SENSE 


29 


heavy mixture of unvaporized gasoline. The heavier 
fuel we are forced to use carries such large per cent 
of kerosene that the average carbureter is not pro¬ 
vided with sufficient heat to completely vaporize it. 

Now we will suppose a class of engine trouble in 
which our engine shows great power and accelera¬ 
tion when the clutch is fully thrown , out and the en¬ 
gine is running idle. The slightest opening of the 
throttle causes the engine to respond with promise 
of great power but, when the load is put on there is 
a sluggish, draggy action of the engine. 

There are just Four causes for this kind of troubel. 

First, we will inspect our brake-band adjustment. 
The bands may be dragging on the brake drums or 
'Tiding” in a way to absorb the power. 

Second, we will inspect our clutch to see if it is 
slipping. A slipping clutch will absorb the power 
but will not transmit it. 

Third, we will inspect our clutch pedal adjustment 
to see if we have faulty engagement of the clutch. 

Fourth, we will inspect the clutch surface of our 
clutch to see if it is worn. A worn clutch surface 
will permit intermittent clutch slippage and conse¬ 
quently greatly reduce fihe power of our engine. 

Now we are on the road and our engine is working 
fine. 

We have found all of our troubles and corrected 
them. 



30 


AUTO SENSE 
- .. * 

This gave us confidence and we are now speeding 
along feeling the strong sense of mastery which 
comes from our success, but presently we discover 
another very serious trouble. Our engine is over¬ 
heating. It boils and steams and smokes, and we 
half fear it is on fire. 

There are only Eight causes which produce over¬ 
heating of an engine. 

First, we may have an over-retarded spark and that 
will seldom fail to cauase an engine to overheat. 
Fully advance your spark. It wa-s designed and pro¬ 
vided for this in the theory and practice of experts, 
for the reasons of keeping an engine cooler, giving 
it more power and securing greater economy. 

Second, we will see if valve-s are properly timed. 
(Read Article 5, on Timing.) 

Third, we will see if exhaust valves raise sufficient¬ 
ly to permit a quick escape of the exhaust gases. 
(Read Article 9, on Valve Lift.) 

Fourth, we jwill inspect the muffler to see if it is 
clogged with carbon or soot. If clogged it will choke 
the exhaust passage and set up a back pressure of 
heated gases. 

Fifth, we will inspect our radiator to see if any 
obstructions have stopped the water passages there¬ 
by interrupting or stopping circulation of the cooling 
waters. 



AUTO SENSE 


31 


Sixth, we will inspect, if we have mechanically 
forced circulation, our circulating pump. It may be 
defective or entirely out of commission. 

Seventh, we will inspect our fan belt. It may be 
broken or may be too loose and slipping on the pully. 

Eighth, we will inspect our lubricating system. It 
may be our engine is not getting sufficient lubrica¬ 
tion. 

Now that we have found the trouble and corrected 
it, we have a good pulling engine and we open the 
throttle and let our car ramble. But presently the 
engine develops a peculiar hissing. 

Now there are just Six causes which may produce 
engine hissing. 

First, we will inspect our spark plugs for, in all 
probability, we have a broken spark plug. 

• 

Second, we will see if any relief cock or priming 
cup valve is open, or if our spark plugs have priming 
device, we will look for leaks in the same. 

Third, we will inspect our cylinder head gasket to 
see if it is properly fitted. It may be leaking. 

Fourth, we will inspect our exhaust pipe connec¬ 
tion to see if a loose joint is leaking. 

Fifth, we will inspect the joint fittings on our in. 
take manifold for any possible leaks. 

Sixth, if we are forced to make the final investiga- 



32 


AUTO SENSE 


tion, we will inspect our cylinder walls for a scored 
cylinder. 

Having located and quieted this objectionable 
poise, (unless we find a scored cylinder, in this event 
we will need to take the car to the garage) we are 
again spinning along the road but, now our engine 
develops a knock and it annoys us and may damage 
our engine. 

We have, in this case, just Ten sources of trouble 
to investigate. 

First, we will inspect the spark advance rods. 
They may be improperly adjusted and we can 
lengthen or shorten them, as may be required for 
proper advance of spark. 

Second, we will inspect for carbon deposit in our 
engine. 

Third, we will inspect our carbureter adjustment. 
It may be too rich. 

Fourth, we will see if any nut has worked loose 
resulting in a loose bearing. 

Fifth, we will see if we have a worn bearing in the 
engine causing the knock. 

Sixth, we will see if we have a loose flywheel. 

Seventh, we will see if there are loose cylinder 
holding bolts, which very often causes an engine to 
knock. 



AUTO SENSE 


33 


Eighth, we will see if we have an overloaded en¬ 
gine. If we overload our car we may expect our 
engine to knock. 

Ninth, we will inspect the carbureter float to see 
if it is leaking or water logged. If a cork float, we 
must dry it thoroughly and coat it with shellac. If 
a metal float, we must be sure it is free of gasoline 
and dry, then solder the leak. 

Tenth, we will inspect the priming pin spring to 
see if it is weak. Remoye the spring and stretch it 
to make it stronger. 

Now that we are well on the road and have a 
smooth running, good pulling engine and know ex¬ 
actly how to locate and correct any kind of engine 
trouble, I will let you take the wheel. But listen: 
There will, or may, be times when other troubles 
may develop, such as the engine smoking, explosions 
in the muffler, overheated exhaust pipe and etc. But 
such things are rare and usually unimportant and 
should give no alarm whatever. However, you will 
be able to quickly detect the cause of trouble and 
correct the fault. 

As a driver you will meet with many car troubles, 
usually called chassis troubles, but you are to de¬ 
velop Auto Sense and thereby easily master every 
trouble. 

Now; Wait a minute! The makers of your car 
have furnished you with a book of instructions and 



34 


AUTO SENSE 


you get yourself familiar with the detail of the en¬ 
tire contents of that book. 

Also study Auto Sense till you dream it, then you 
will be able to go all the way and back again in your 
car, any time and to any place. 

Always before making any drive look your car 
over and inspect it. This requires only three to five 
minutes- time and may save a life and much money. 
Enough said. Start your engine. Ah! She’s off at 
the first slight cranking. Now throw out your clutch 
and engage your low gear. O, it will not engage; 
Don’t race your engine. Never race your engine. 

Don’t try to engage a gear when it will not engage 
freely. 

Gently try the reverse. Now let your clutch in 
slightly. Enough. Now to low. Good. Now to 
second. Now to high. Fine. 

For goodness sake! Get that frozen corps look off 
your face! You aren’t driving a sulphur wagon to 
Hades. It’s a pleasure car you are driving, so look 
pleasant. Relax! Do not labor so at the wheel. 
You are not boring post holes in dry ground with a 
dull auger. Imagine something funny to take the ex¬ 
cessive tension off your mind. Think you see a 
would-be farmer, just moved out from the city, 
grinding his wire stretchers. That couldn’t be any 
more silly than it is for you to try to keep this car 
in the road. No. You don’t steer a car to keep it 



AUTO SENSE 


35 


in the road. You steer it to keep it from leaving the 
road, only at your will. 

When you drove the old family horse did you yank 
him from one side of the road to the other or, rather, 
didn’t you give him the line as long as he kept the 
road. Just so, imagine your right and left hands 
placed as they are on the wheel to hold the right and 
left line, and if old Dobin starts out of the road, 
gently remind him, by a slight pull on the line, that 
you want him to keep the road. Now that’s just fine. 
But listen, don’t swing out so far on the next corner 
as you did this one. Turn them just as short as the 
road bed permits you to and always slow down. 

You say, it looks like one could turn a larger circle 
with more safety. Just so. But the illusion is, you 
cannot make the larger circle. It has to be built into 
the road. You swing out to describe the larger circle 
then, must essentially, cut your car sharply to get 
back into the road. 

But these are of minor importance in slow driving 
but may easily result in a serious accident in fast 
driving. 

However, as we are not giving driving lessons, 
only by suggestion, we will not go into detail but: 
Say we sure did go into that chuck hole. Slow down 
for those road pits. What are you stopping now for? 
I see; the engine is running, the clutch in and the 
gears in mesh and our car standing still. Kill the 
engine. Now we have either sheared or broken 



36 


AUTO SENSE 


something in the our power transmission. It’s most j 
apt to be just one of two things. We have a broken 
axle or we have sheared a key. Jack up one of the » 
rear wheels. Throw the car in gear with the engine | 
standing. Turn the wheel and if the engine turns 
then jack up opposite wheel and it will be found to 
revolve freely without turning the engine over. This 
indicates which side is disconnected. Remove the 
hub cap and if our trouble is a sheared key in the 
wheel hub we may put a wrench securely on the nut 
which holds the wheel on the axle and wire the han¬ 
dle of the wrench securely to a spoke in the wheel 
and thus drive our car on its own power to the gar¬ 
age. If any thing more serious than this has hap¬ 
pened we will have to be pulled in. 

Now we will presume we are on our way once 
more and, Look out! Too late now, don’t race your 
engine. One wheel is deep in the mud and spinning- 
while the other wheel stands still. Kill your .engine. 
We could possibly find rails, or posts, or boards and 
pry the wheel up and give it traction. But let us 
have Auto Sense. The differential is a slacker and 
rather than take the strain it spins the wheel of least 
resistance* Disconnect the emergency Brake rod 
from the wheel that has firmer traction. Now slight¬ 
ly set the emergency brake on the wheel in mud, or 
deep snow, as the case may be. Start the engine. , 
Put ’er in low and out we go. 

Say, that sure is some hill ahead of us. Better 
make a good run for that. Well, well, you madq a 
good run but, Shift quickly! Too late! You killed 




AUTO SENSE 


37 


your engine. Hold your car with your emergency 
and start your engine. It fails to start. (We will 
now suppose we have a gravity feed system.) ' Look' 
for low line of gasoline. Yes, too low in the fuel 
tank to feed to the carbureter. We nearly went over 
the top and if the engine could have maintained suf¬ 
ficient speed the suction would have drawn enough 
fuel. Now we shall have to back down the hill and 
then back up the hill and it is very dangerous to 
back down a long steep hill with an ugly ditch on 
either side and, it puts an undue strain on the reverse 
mechanism to back up such an awful hill. Well we 
could walk some where and borrow or buy some 
gasoline, or we could phone from some house some 
where and have the garage send us out some gaso¬ 
line, or we might hire some farmer’s team and pull 
the car over the top, then we would have enough 
gasoline to go the eight miles to town. Now let us 
here have Auto Sense. 

If myself, or some other person could always be 
with you, I would show you how to turn this trick 
in the quickest and easiest way but, since you may 
be caught alone you will need to know how to turn 
it by yourself. Make a peg, of a match or any piece 
of wood, that will fit tightly in the vent hole of the 
filler cap on top of the gasoline tank. Now take 
your tire pump and hold the open end of the air hose 
tight over the vent hole and pump twenty-five or 
thirty good full strokes of air into the tank, slipping 
the peg stopper quickly into the vent hole. Crank 
your engine and go over the* top. You have pres- 



AUTO SENSE 


38 


sure feed. • Thank you sir. But wait a minute. Be 
sure to remove the peg from the vent hole when you 
have topped the hill. If there should be two of you, 
then you will not need the peg. One run the pump 
and the other the engine. 

Now the author could go on writing volumes of 
interesting things in the line of Auto Sense but most 
of them you would never need, many of them will 
occur to you and some of them you already know. 

I have tried to give a clear and concise understand¬ 
ing to the reader of the more important and essen¬ 
tial things which the automobile driver will most 
frequently need. These things the automobile drivei 
should know and if you will carefully and frequently 
consult the pages of this little book and thoroughly 
familiarize yourself with its contents you will find 
that this, plus actual practice, will save you hundreds 
of dollars in garage bills which you may pay to your¬ 
self instead of Paying the other fellow. 

And now, there is your home. Wouldn’t it have 
been an awful thing,if we really had had all the 
trouble we have imagined? But will it not be a great 
thing, in the event you ever do have 'any of these 
troubles, that you will know just what to do, and how 
nice to drive and handel with perfect safety, your 
own car. Now didn’t that turn in to your g^te just 
like old Dobin? And look! It stops for the gate to 
be opened! Never mind; keep the wheel; I will open 
it. Now you see, you can make it do any thing you 
want it to. Did you say. Except to pay the gasoline 



AUTO SENSE 


39 


bills? Listen, the shoe leather you would wear out 
walking to town would cost more money than the 
gasoline you would burn by riding in your car to 
say nothing of your loss of time. But on the road 
somewhere, you suggested you would give me a 
definition for Auto Sense. Let’s have it. Good! 
Good! Thank you.—Auto Sense is Horse Sense in 
a Mechanical form. 


ARTICLE 1. 

Testing Batteries. 

(1) Dry Cells, 

The voltage of a primary dry cell should be from 
one and four one hundredths to one and one half 
volts. 

The amperage of a primary dry cell should be 
twenty five to fifty amperes, according to size. No. 
6 should show twenty-five to thirty amperes. 

A dry cell is said to be discharged or exhausted 
when it fails to show seven amperes. 

A dry cell may show nearly full voltage when it 
is giving out very little current. 

Extra mileage may be secured by connecting bat¬ 
teries in series multiple or change of vibrator ad¬ 
justment. 



40 


AUTO SENSE 


The terminals should be gone over carefully and 
inspected for loose or broken cell connectors. 

Any weak cell must be taken out of the battery. 

Dry cells should be renewed every sixty days. 

When testing the cells with an ammeter it should 
be done quickly because the ammeter short circuits 
the cell. 

Each cell should be tested separately. 

(2) Storage Battery. 

The voltage of a fully charged cell should be two 
and one half volts. 

The cell is down or discharged when the voltage 
falls to one and eight one hundredths. 

The proper way to test a storage battery is to test 
the specific gravity (density) of the solution, or 
electrolyte in each cell with a hydrometer. 

The reading on a fully charged cell should be one 
and two hundred and eighty thousandths. 

# 

Reading, one and two hundred and fifty thou¬ 
sandths is eighty per cent of full charge. 

Reading, one and two hundred and twenty-five 
thousandths is sixty per cent of full charge. 

Reading, one\ and two hundred thousandths is 
forty per cent of full charge. 



AUTO SENSE 


41 


Reading, one and one hundred and seventy-five 
thousandths is twenty per cent of full charge. 

Reading* one and one hundred and fifty thou¬ 
sandths the battery is exhausted or discharged. 

Keep battery securely fastened in place and keep 
the -battery compartments wiped clean and dry. 

See that terminals are tight and do not permit an 
open flame near the battery. 

See that the electrolyte is kept at proper height 
(over top of plates) and use only pure water. 

A storage battery should be charged once every 
two months, whether it is used or not. 

Care should be taken to remove all verdigris or 
sulphate from the battery terminals. 

ARTICLE 2. 

Inspecting Wiring and Switches. 

All wiring should be inspected for worn, broken; 
cracked, torn, burned or otherwise faulty insulation. 

The fuse wire on a resistance coil should be in¬ 
spected to see if it is burned or broken. 

The wiring should be inspected for broken strands 
or broken places in the wire. 

To find which, if any, strand is broken in a cable, 



42 


AUTO SENSE 


use a small compass on each separate strand with a 
battery attached to other end of cable. If any strand 
is broken it will not attract needle of compass. 

Inspect carefully all terminal connections for dirty, 
grasy or stranded ends or parts. 

Ground wires should be inspected for loose, dirty, 
rusty or fautly ground connections. 

All switches should be thoroughly overhauled but 
do not disassemble a switch only one part at a time, 
carefully putting each part back to place before re¬ 
moving another. 

Never “think” a switch is O. K. if ks inspection 
falls in the line of trouble shooting. Inspect it. 


ARTICLE 3. 

Inspecting and Testing Magnetos and Dynamos. 

(1) The Dynamo. 

A dynamo differs from a magneto chiefly in the 
field magnets. Its parts are: Commutator end hous¬ 
ings, Drive end housings, Complete armature, Com¬ 
mutator, Insulating process, Field coils, Generator 
bearings, Motor bearings, Brush holders, Automatic 
cut-out. Ignition attachment and Generator drive. 

(2) The Magneto. 

The magneto is classified by manner in which the 



AUTO SENSE 


43’ 


current is generated, those having rotating armature 
and those having stationary armature with revolving 
inductors-. 

Magnetos may be divided again in considering the 
kind of current generated. 

These are low tension current and high tension 
current. 

There may be a further division in considering, 
true high tension current and high tension current 
with self contained coil, and high tension with sep¬ 
arate coil. 

Still another class is known as inductor magnetos. 

In a low tension system all the electrical principles 
involved are very simple while the mechanically ap¬ 
plied principles are highly complicated. 

The high tension system is exactly opposite to 
this in that it is very complicated in its electrical 
functioning but- simple in the mechanical application 
of its working principle. 

The elements of a low tension circuit are: A 
source of current supply, (Primary battery, accumu¬ 
lator, or, low tension magneto.) primary induction 
coil, (when a battery is used,) an igniter, a switch 
for breaking the circuit, (an additional switch to al¬ 
ternate between the battery and the magneto, when 
both are used,) and connecting wires. 

The necessary thing in low tension ignition is to 



44 


AUTO SENSE 


secure extreme rapidity in the “brake” or. separation 
of the contact points. 

Inspect the following parts of the low tension 
magneto: Interrupter, high tension leads to cylin¬ 
der, high tension distributer disc, distributer wipe 
contacts, secondary ground on metal of engine, dis¬ 
tributor rings of primary circuit and timing bell 
crank. (This bell crank may be worn.) 

Inspect the following parts of the high tension 
magneto: High tension collector ring, carbon brush 
for high tension current, spring contact for conduct¬ 
ing the high tension current, distributor carbon 
brush, distributor disc, central distributor segment, 
high tension terminals, interrupter, or circuitbreaker, 
low tension brush and inspect the timer, or com¬ 
mutator, or distributor for wabbling or lost motion 
in bearings, for cracks or breaks in insulating rings 
and for poor ground contacts. 

ARTICLE 4. 

Vibrators and Coils. Inspecting, Testing and 
Adjusting. 

Coils require about six volts to operate them for 
proper working. 

A coil using a resistance unit may be stepped up 
on a weak battery by changing terminal of battery 
lead on the coil to top of the resistance unit, cutting 
out the resistance. 



AUTO SENSE 


45 


A slight ticking is usually detected inside a coil, 
(using a sonoscope,) if the coil is broken down. 

The vibrators of a multi-unit coil should be tuned 
to the same vibration. 

Vibrators should be screwed down to about 1-3 
ampere current. 

One-half turn of the adjusting screw at the coil 
will increase the current 1-2 to 1 and 1-2 amperes. 

The vibrator spring should be adjusted so~the ham¬ 
mer at the end of spring will stand, normally, 1-16 
in. above the end of coil. 

The platinum points on both the trembler spring 
and adjusting screw should be smooth and have pos¬ 
itive contact. 

The tension of the vibrator spring should not be 
<oo light or too he^avy, but should make a sharp, 
buzzing sound when contact is established at the 
timer. 

The adjusting screw should be tight in the vi¬ 
brator bridge and when the proper spring tension is 
obtained, the regulating screw should be firmly fas¬ 
tened to prevent movement. 

If the vibrator operates satisfactorily, but there is 
a brilliant spark between the vibrator points, or a 
heavy, bluish spark, and a poor spark at the spark 
plug, and no change from adjustment, it is evidence 
that the coil condenser is punctured. 



46 


AUTO SENSE 


This would mean a short circuit at condenser and 
will require a new coil. 

Time required to saturate the coil, make the break, 
(vibrator) and discharge the core, is five thou¬ 
sandths of a second. 

The failure of one coil unit will be due to: a de¬ 
fect in the coil itself, in its vibrator, in the wire to 
the timer or in the timer. 

The failure of all the coils will be due: to the bat¬ 
tery, or to the wires from battery to ground, or 
wires from the battery to the switch, or in the 
switch, or in the timer being entirely out of com¬ 
mission. 


ARTICLE 5. 

Timing. Inspecting and Adjusting. 

(1) Intake, or, Inlet Valve. Opens when crank 
is eight degrees past top dead center and closes when 
crank is thirty-eight degrees past the lower dead 
center. 

X. 

Inlet valve opens and closes late. 

(2) Exhaust Valve. Opens forty-six degrees be¬ 
fore crank reaches the Tower dead center and closes 
fifteen degrees past the upper dead center. 

Exhaust valve opens early and closes late. 

If the diameter of flywheel is 18 in. the Inlet Valve 



AUTO SENSE 


47 


opens late 1 and 1-4 in. top center, and closes 5 and 
31-32 in. past bottom dead center. 

If diameter of flywheel is 18 in. Exhaust Valve 
opens early 7 & 15-64 in. bottom dead center and 
closes late 2 & 23-64 in. top center. 

Timing Ford Valves. Intake Valve opens with the 
piston 1-16 in. down from top center and closes 9-16 
in. after the piston has reached bottom center. The 
distance from the top of the piston to the top of the 
cylinder casting should measure 3 & 1-8 in. 

Exhaust Valve opens when the piston reaches a 
point on its travel from 5-16 in. to 1-4 in. before lower 
dead center, on 3rd stroke. The piston position, or 
distance from the top of the piston head to the top 
of the cylinder casting at the time the exhaust valve 
starts to open is 3 & 3-8 in. 

The Exhaust Valve should close on top center 
between 3rd and 4th strokes. 

The piston top at this time is 5-16 in. above the 
cylinder casting. The clearance between the push 
rod and the valve stem (Ford) should never be 
greater than 1-32 in. nor less than 1-64 in. 

Firing Order. Ford and Hupmobile, 1-2-4-3. 

Usual Practice, Four cylinder engines, 1 -3-4-2. 

Six cylinder engines, 1-4-2-6-3-5. 

Eight cylinder engines, 1-4-5-2-7-6-3-8. 



48 


AUTO SENSE 


ARTICLE 6. 

Circuitbreaker, Or, Interrupter. Inspecting and 
Adjusting. 

(1) Bosch Magneto-Breaker points should be 
perfectly flat and smooth, and when fully open should 
be about Fifteen thousandths of an inch clearance. 

(2) Simms Magneto—Troublesome parts; Dis¬ 
tributer arm and segments dirty. Contact breaker 
should open one sixty fourth of an inch. 

(3) Atwater Kent Ignition System—Normal gap 
of contact points should never be closer than ten to 
twelve thousandths of an inch. 

(4) Remy System—Circuit-breaker points should 
be, at the breaker gap fifteen to twenty thousandths 
of an inch. The maximum may be twenty-five thou¬ 
sandths of an inch. 

(5) Dixie Magneto—Gap in Circuit-breaker twenty 
thousandths of an inch. 

(6) Heinze Magneto—Circuit-breaker points should 
be adjusted to open twenty thousandths of an inch. 

(7) Where no specific instructions on magneto 
is available the Circuit-breaker points may be ad¬ 
justed twelve to fourteen thousandths of an inch at 
maximum opening. 



AUTO SENSE 


49 


ARTICLE 7. 

Spark Plug Gaps. Inspecting and Adjusting. 

(1) Remy Magneto—Spark Gap between the elec¬ 
trodes of the plug should be twenty to twenty-five 
thousandths of an inch. ~ 

If the engine misses when running idle or pulling 
light, the gaps should be made wider. If engine 
misses- at high speed, or when pulling heavy at low 
speed,' the gaps should be made closer. 

(2) Heinze Magneto—The spark gap in the plug 
should be adjusted to a minimum of twenty thou¬ 
sandths of an inch and a maximum of twenty-five 
thousandths of an inch. 

(3) In adjusting the spark gap of a plug, it 
should be remembered that it requires from three to 
five thousand volts for sparking pressure in the air, 
while in the cylinder under a compression of four or 
five times atmospheric pressure, it reqiures- an elec, 
trical pressure of from ten to twenty thousand volts. 

(4) In usual practice spark plug gaps should be 
from fifteen thousandths of an inch to one thirty- 
second of an inch open, depending on the ignition 
system and compression of the fuel charge. 



50 


AUTO SENSE 


ARTICLE 8. 

Carbureters. Testing and Adjusting. 

The author of . Auto Sense could write a lengthy 
article on Gasoline and Carbureters. He could go 
into the detail of all the chemistry involved, as his 
grades of 100 per cent proficiency show. But when 
the reader had finished, the subject would be blank¬ 
eted with mysteries, and you would still believe it 
was too deep for any one but experts. 

If you take food into your stomach and by the 
mysterious process of digestion it is- convreted into 
blood and bone and muscle of your body, then you 
become acquainted with the fact that your stomach 
is an important organ of your body and must func¬ 
tion in order to the health of your body. 

Now let us suppose the carbureter to be the stom¬ 
ach of our engine and the gasoline to be the food, 
and now if we let the mixture represent the state or 
degree of digestion we will easily understand the 
principles involved in carburation. 

Our carbureter (stomach) must properly mix 
(digest) the oxygen in the air with the carbon and 
hydrogen in the gasoline and then our system must 
function to effect the chemical combination of these 
elements and we shall have combustion. 

Now there is no need for us to set down here a 
lengthy technical data as to the proportions of the 
mixture. 



AUTO SENSE 


51 


If you eat too much you may have indigestion and 
if you do not eat enough you will have a starved 
body. 

Now we are going to adjust a carbureter having 
a gasoline adjustment and an auxiliary or secondary 
air adjustment. Turn the needle valve down till it is 
closed; that is, turn it clock-wise just as you would 
turn a screw down into a board. Now this is to 
prove to you that it is closed and to show you where 
to begin. Now open the needle gasoline valve one 
and one-half turns. Leave the high speed adjust¬ 
ment, or auxiliary air adjustment closed till you are 
through with the fuel adjustment. 

Now start your engine and with it idling about two 
hundred and fifty revolutions per minute, turn your 
fuel adjusting needle to opening or closing till you 
get the best results. 

You can easily tell by the performance of your 
engine. 

Now open the auxiliary air adjustment and accel¬ 
erate your engine and continue opening slowly and 
continue accelerating the engine till the engine back¬ 
fires or misses, then turn the air valve back to clos¬ 
ing slightly till the backfiring or miss is “killed.” 

In adjusting carbureters from flame colors, if no 
motorscope is available, remove the exhaust mani¬ 
fold and adjust and observe for these indications: 
At the lower and medium speeds the color of the 
flame should be a dark blue, verging upon violet. 



52 


AUTO SENSE 


For otfier speeds up to normal rated speed of the 
engine, the color should be a somewhat lighter blue, 
but should at no point loose its decided blue tinge. 
A yellow tint in the exhaust denotes too little gaso¬ 
line in proportion to the amount of air supplied. 
Red flame indicates too much gasoline. If the flame 
colors fluctuate from yellow to red and no carbure¬ 
ter adjustment will correct the defect it indicates a 
faulty nozzle action. 

Adjusting Ford Engine Carbureter. The stock 
equipment of most all Ford cars to 1919 presents a 
Holley Carbureter. 

To adjust this carbureter you simply turn it down, 
clock-wise, that is, just as you would turn a screw 
downward into a board, till you close the needle 
valve. This is to show you that the valve is closed 
and to give you a starting point to adjust from. Now 
turn opposite to opening one full turn, (If cold 
weather, one and one-half turn.) 

This is your starting or cranking adjustment. Now 
start your engine and let it warm up nicely, then 
turn the fuel valve slowly down to closing, with the 
spark and throttle levers up to top of sector, till en¬ 
gine idles nicely. 

This is your idling adjustment. Now retard your 
spark half way down on the sector and accelerate 
the engine with the throttle, slowly turning fuel 
valve to closing till engine backfires, then turn slight¬ 
ly back to opening till the engine acceleartes with- 





AUTO SENSE 


53 


out backfiring. This 'is your road and high speed 
adjustment. 


ARTICLE 9. 

Valve Lift. Inspecting and Adjusting. 

(1) Studebaker Four and Six—Push rod clear¬ 
ance at valve stem lift should be three thousandths 

Sof an inch. 

(2) Buick—Four to five thousandths of an inch. 

(3) Ford—Not greater than one thirty second 
nor less than one sixty fourth of an inch. 

(4) For all car practice, in the absence of spe¬ 
cific instructions, from six to twelve thousandths 
of an inch. 



54 


AUTO SENSE 


PUT PEP IN YOUR FORD 

Wright’s Pep Manifold Vaporizer for Ford Cars 
gives three to six miles more per gallon off gasoline. 

Increases the power of your engine from^two to 
five horse power over what is usually developed. 

Makes the engine run smooth when laboring under 
a heavy load. 

Keeps all the spark plugs clean all the time. 

Provides priming of the engine for easy cranking. 

Provides each intake stroke with a perfectly bal¬ 
anced mixture of pure dry gas. 

Prevents condensation in the intake manifold and 
makes every cylinder hit regularly. 

PEP prevents the formation of carbon in the cyl¬ 
inders and keeps the back pressure off the pistons by 
preventing loading or choking of the muffler with 
soot. 

PEP is automatically transformed into an air brake 
when throttle is fully closed and clutch is left in and 
will hold your car to ,a safe speed down most any 
hill, at the same time cleansing each cylinder with 
fresh air and preventing excessive heating of the 
cylinder walls, thus using much less cylinder oil than 
is usually required. 

PEP makes your car ride easy and handle easy by 



AUTO SENSE 


55 


imparting a soft floating like motion to the car 
through each power stroke instead of the usual, jerky- 
wave like motion caused from unbalanced mixture of 
the fuel charge. 

PEP puts the power punch into the piston, kills 
all smoke and offensive odor of burning gasoline and 
absolutely ends ninety per cent of all engine trouble. 

PEP makes the exhausting ring clear as a bell and 
causes your engine to respond with life like per¬ 
formance at each opening touch of your throttle. 

PEP will put your car up all the hills in high and 
make it show more speed and acceleration than most 
of the big sixes and when they “honk” for you to 
lay over PEP will save you the embarrassment of 
eating their dust. 

PEP sells without sales agents or dealers talk or 
argument. 

Send no money; Sign no contract; Simply drop us 
a line if you want to try a PEP. 

We will send one PEP to any address, upon re¬ 
quest for free trial, and let you be the judge and the 
jury as to the merits of this wonderful invention. 

Nothing to do but to change intake manifolds, take 
yours off and put PEP on. 

If after a reasonable trial, not exceeding thirty 
days, you are satisfied of the real merits of PEP and 
want to keep it on your car, send us your check for 

y 

\ - •* $ . ;V 



56 


AUTO SENSE 


the purchase price, now $5.00 or, what is better for 
you, send us yOur check for $3.85 and send us by 
parcel post your old manifold as we pay $1.15 each 
for the old manifolds, using them as one of the parts 
in the construction and assembly of our PEP mani¬ 
fold vaporizer. 

If after a reasonable trial you are not satisfied of 
the real benefit to your engine which we claim and 
beileve you will receive then simply return it at our 
expense. 

Not more than One PEP will be sent for trial to 
any one person hence if two or more neighbors- wish 
to try them they must make separate and individual 
request. 

Address: 

THE J. R. WRIGHT ENGINEERING WORKS, 
1301 Tinsman Avenue, Trenton, Mo. 



AUTO SENSE 


57 


AUTO SENSE 

I. 

Index to Special Articles. 

ARTICLE 1. 

Testing Batteries .Page 39-41 

ARTICLE 2. 

Inspecting firing and Switches.Page 41.42 

ARTICLE 3. 

Inspecting and Testing Magnetos and 

Dynamos .Page 42-44 

ARTICLE 4. 

Vibrators and Coils. Testing and Adjust¬ 
ing .Page 44-46 

ARTICLE 5. 

Timing. Inspecting and Adjusting.Page 46-47 

ARTICLE 6. 

Circuitbreaker, or, Interrupter, Inspecting 

and Adjusting .*.Page 48 

ARTICLE 7. 

Spark Plug Gaps. Inspecting and Adjusting, Page49 
ARTICLE 8. 

Carbureters. Testing and Adjusting.Page 50-53 

ARTICLE 9. 

Valve Lift. Inspecting and Adjusting.......Page 53 











58 


AUTO SENSE 


AUTO SENSE 
II. 

Index to Troubles. 

Auto Sense; What It Implies^...Page 1-4 

If the Self Starter Fails ..Page 4-7 

If the Generator Fails to Charge.Page 7 

If Engine Fails to Start.Page 7-15 

If Engine Starts at Each Cranking but 

Immediately Stops .Page 15-19 

If Engine Misses at High Speed.Page 20-21 

If Engine Develops An Occasional and 

Irregular Miss .. Page 21-24 

If Engine Develops a Constant Miss in One or More 

Cylinders, Other Cylinders Firing 
Regularly. Page 24-25 

If Engine Occasionally Missfires in All the 

Cylinders .Page 25-26 

If Engine Acts “Crazy” and Fluctuates from 

Good to Bad and from Bad to Worse, Page 26-27 

If Engine Runs Smoothly but Fails to 

Develop Required Power .Page 27-29 













AUTO SENSE 


59 


AUTO SENSE 
Index to Troubles Continued 

If Engine Shows Promise of Great Power 
When Idling, But Sluggish, Draggy 
Performance When Goan is Put On.. Page 29^30 

If Engine Develops the Fault of Overheat¬ 
ing . ..Page 30-31 

If Engine Develops Any Hissing Noise. . .Page 31-32 

If Engine Develops Any Kind of Knock.. Page 32-33 

If Engine Runs Idle with Clutch In and 

Gears in Mesh.Page 35-36 

If You Stick in a Mud Hole or Snow Drift 

• and Have Traction for One Wheel.Page 36 

If You Hang Up on a Hill and the Gasoline 
is Too Low in the Tank to Feed to 
Carbureter.;.Page 36-38 

Important Suggestions to the Driver.Page 33-35 

A New Definition of “Auto Sense”.Page 39 














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